I almost don't even want to talk about it.
After securing all my stuff at Happy Guesthouse, I headed up to Siem Reap for the day. I was supposed to meet a friend there. We were going to catch the first sunrise of the year over Angkor Wat. It was going to be awesome!
It was profoundly un-awesome.
The first mistake was taking the 11 am bus. I couldn't get an earlier bus, and if I'd have bothered to listen to my gut instinct screaming NO! at me, I would have just gone home right then. Instead I did that thing I do: I persisted.
My friend had to meet me before 7 pm before she hosted a New Year's event till after midnight--she would be incommunicado after that point. Wouldn't you know it? The bus blew a tire and I didn't show up till after 7pm, effectively severing our communication. There was no plan in place for what to do next (and yes, guys, I did try to make one).
I decided the best thing to do would be to find a guesthouse and try to meet up early in the morning. The first few I found either blocked me from coming in, or didn't speak English. I got a massive wave of hypothyroid sleepiness at this point, in addition to being unbearably hungry and sugar-crashy from not eating on the long bus trip. Tears of frustration clouded my eyes (yes, literal tears. I was really going to cry).
(Between you and me, I'm sometimes too much of a wimp to be a real adventurer).
Finally, I found a moto driver to just take me into the center of town. The problem is, there were no vacancies in literally ANY guesthouses. For two hours, we drove through town just looking for somewhere to stay.
I can tell you what, from a tourist's perspective, is the worst possible choice to make in Cambodia. Namely, that would be going to Siem Reap on the afternoon of 31 December without previously booking a hotel room.
Never, never do this.
Everyone comes to Siem Reap for the big New Years celebration...I don't know why, but they do. And I had nowhere to stay.
I had several meltdowns at several guesthouses (complete with me rolling into a sobbing ball of despair and consigning myself to a bench in the park, which is quite embarrassing now that I think about it).
By the time I realized there was really and truly nowhere to stay, I still hadn't eaten anything, I was dead tired and my brain wasn't working, and ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS GO HOME. Really despairing of ever being able to find a place to stay, I went to a bus station to buy a night bus ticket. The soonest the bus left was at midnight (it was about 9 pm at that point and MAN, I didn't want to wait).
Before buying the ticket, I decided I should just get some food.
After wandering a ways down the road, I happened upon an Indian food restaurant with no one inside...so I went in and wearily sat at a table.
I had been in regular contact with my friend, Thearea, having him translate my illness and despair to my moto driver...he became increasingly worried, and told me he had a friend who might let me sleep at his place for the night. Well, his friend called me at the table, and proceeded to try to sell me a tour of Angkor Wat. My sense of hospitality offended, I declined.
Then I was too depressed to eat--not angry, not frustrated, not worried, not amused, just depressed. I boxed up the food to go and figured I would just go wait for the bus for three hours...feeling miserable, spaced out, and unwell...I was feeling so bad mentally, physically, and emotionally at this point that it was unreal.
As I walked down the road, I happened to notice a sign that said "Tourist Information."
Me: Heeeyyyy.... Maybe THEY can help me find a place to stay.
To make a long story short, they did, and they even drove me there for free. The guesthouse they found was located far on the outskirts of town, and that was fine with me.
I dragged myself into my $12 per night bed and went to sleep, awakened only once by the sound of fireworks at midnight.
I woke up at 4:45 am and took the first bus back to Phnom Penh. I didn't give a crap about Angkor at that point, and anyway, the sky was cloudy, so the first sunrise of the year might not have been all that spectacular.
I'm sorry that day happened.
But I did learn one thing: Never try to book a room in Siem Reap on 31 December.
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